Basketball in 1993

United States

College

Losing a second straight bid for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship in 1993 proved more than twice as painful for the University of Michigan’s "Fabulous Five." The Wolverines reached the final game of the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row only to fall short once more. A year earlier Duke had routed them 71-51. This time the Big Ten team lost to another Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) member, North Carolina, in a 77-71 heartbreaker.

A mental error in the closing seconds by Chris Webber, the leader of Michigan’s sophomore-studded lineup, enabled the Tar Heels to hang on. It was Webber’s last game with "Fab Five" teammates Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson because the 2.05-m (6-ft 9-in) centre-forward had elected to drop out of school and enter the National Basketball Association (NBA) draft.

The thrilling finish in the New Orleans Superdome gave North Carolina’s coach, Dean Smith, his second national title. The only major college coaches to win more were John Wooden of UCLA with 10, Kentucky’s Adolph Rupp with 4, and Indiana’s Bobby Knight with 3.

With Michigan trailing 73-71 in the final minute, Webber rebounded a missed free throw by Pat Sullivan of North Carolina. He dribbled downcourt and into the right corner. Then, inexplicably, Webber signaled for a time-out although the Wolverines had none left to take. The penalty for this mistake was a two-shot technical foul and possession of the ball for North Carolina. Fittingly, Donald Williams sank both free throws with 11 seconds to go, assuring the Tar Heels their first NCAA crown since Michael Jordan’s basket won the title for them 11 years earlier on the same court.

Regardless of their loss, Webber and his teammates pulled off a remarkable feat by reaching the title game in both of their seasons together. For most teams, led by seniors, reaching the Final Four just once is a dream that seldom comes true. Under Coach Steve Fisher the Wolverines peaked at tournament time. On a mission to erase the 1992 humiliation by Duke, they survived two overtime scares to reach the last step on their climb. They wanted a rematch with Duke, but the Blue Devils’ quest for their third straight NCAA crown ended in the second round of the Midwest Regional with an 82-77 loss to California.

North Carolina also had to play an extra period in getting past Cincinnati 75-68 in the East Regional final. Smith’s team joined Michigan, Kansas, and Kentucky in New Orleans, La., for the April 3 semifinals. The Tar Heels ousted Kansas 78-68, while Michigan overcame a four-point deficit in overtime to get past Kentucky 81-78.

That set up a championship duel two nights later between the nation’s premier basketball conferences. The ACC prevailed for the third straight year after a hotly contested final. The Tar Heels’s 2.13-m (7-ft) centre, Eric Montross, battled Webber under both baskets, although it was Williams’ game-high 25 points and four clutch free throws at the end that made the difference. Amazingly, Williams duplicated his semifinals performance--25 points and five of seven baskets from the three-point range--to be named Most Valuable Player of the Final Four.

When the 1993-94 season began, a rules change had been made to speed up play and reduce excessive fouling in the final minutes. The NCAA men’s basketball committee voted to cut the shot clock from 45 to 35 seconds, although the women’s rules group elected to stay with the 30-second clock it had used since 1969.

Other significant rules changes would stop the clock after baskets in the final minute of regulation time or overtime and eliminate automatic turnovers on closely guarded players who did not pass or dribble within five seconds. The new rules package was not as radical as the introduction of the 45-second shot clock in 1985, which virtually eliminated stalling tactics.

In women’s basketball, Sheryl Swoopes poured in an NCAA tournament final-game record 47 points, sparking Texas Tech to the national championship with an 84-82 victory over Ohio State. The 1.83-m (6-ft) Swoopes even topped the men’s NCAA finals mark of 44 points, set by UCLA’s Bill Walton in 1973. A sellout crowd of 16,141 in Atlanta, Ga., marveled at the moves and shooting touch of the transfer student from South Plains College, Levelland, Texas. Along with Swoopes’s talent, her outgoing personality contributed to the growth of interest in the women’s game.

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